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Foodies and aspiring home cooks are some of the most fun people to shop for around the holidays. And there are almost infinite options when it comes to outfitting a kitchen. Seriously, there are so many very cool gadgets out there to complete just about any task.
Since many of my friends and family enjoy cooking, I approach the holiday season by buying a few kitchen gadgets to have on hand, just in case I realize there is someone I might have forgotten to buy a gift for. Please tell me I am not the only person this has happened to!
In fact, I even like to keep one or two on hand throughout the year for birthdays, graduations, Mother’s Day, and other gift-giving events that might sneak up on me.
As much as I love my friends and family, I only have so much money to spend on gifts, and I’m sure many of you are in the same boat. Here are some of my favorite foodie gifts for under $100.
Lodge Enameled 6-Quart Cast Iron Dutch Oven
A good piece of cast iron is always a welcome gift, especially in the form of a Dutch oven. Even if the foodie you’re buying for already has one, they can always use another.
Lodge makes some of the best cast iron products available, and many users love them for the fact that most of their products are made in the US (although in full disclosure, their enameled line is not).
If you are buying this Dutch oven as a gift to have on hand, the enameled type is an excellent choice since you may not know what type of stovetop it’ll be used on. This model can be used on gas, electric, ceramic, and induction cooktops, and it’s even safe in the oven up to 500°F (higher if you take the lid off).
Lodge Color EC6D43 Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven, 6-Quart
If you aren’t familiar with them, Dutch ovens are the ultimate kitchen tool when it comes to making stews, braising, and slow cooking. Unlike most other forms of cookware, you can go from softening veggies or searing meat on the stovetop straight to your oven for low and slow cooking.
Cast iron is one of the best materials around when it comes to heat retention! If you want to learn more about cast iron, check out this guide to buying cast iron pieces, and my guide to cooking with cast iron.
Available in six different colors on Amazon, choosing a piece from the Lodge Color line is a great way to test the waters with enameled cast iron, without blowing your budget.
DeLonghi Dual Zone 3-Pound-Capacity Deep Fryer
A deep fryer is definitely one of those kitchen gadgets everyone would love to have, but can’t quite justify buying for themselves. It’s certainly not an essential, but it’s so much fun! Not to mention, the recipient would have it just in time for the big game later in the winter, which means excellent homemade hot wings and French fries. It’s great year-round for making hand pies, empanadas, hush puppies, corn dogs, and more.
DeLonghi D24527DZ Dual Zone 3-Pound-Capacity Deep Fryer, available at Amazon
Not only is cooking with a deep fryer safer than filling a pot with oil on the stovetop, the cleanup is a lot easier, too. Gone are the days of oil splatter all over your stove! And when it’s time to empty the oil, there’s an easy-access hose at the front of the machine. Many of the parts are even dishwasher safe!
As an extra safety precaution, if it is jostled or pulled, the magnetic cord will detach from the fryer. This one even has a timer so you won’t accidentally over-fry your food. With three pounds of capacity, your chosen recipient will find that they’re able to fry more than enough food for all of their guests. You can read more buying advice from Foodal on buying a top-rated deep fryer here.
Paderno World Cuisine Spiralizer Pro
Spiralizers have become incredibly popular in the past couple of years, and with good reason! With this handy tool, you can turn a wide variety of vegetables into ribbons that can be used in place of noodles, in a salad, in stir fry, or to make curly fries!
With four different blades, you can make flat ribbons or spiral noodles in four different widths. Your right-handed or left-handed friends can use this tool comfortably, making it a great “have on hand” gift.
4-Blade Paderno World Cuisine Spiralizer Pro, available from Amazon
This spiralizer has a very narrow corer, meaning very little of the vegetable is wasted. It can be folded up, making it nice and easy to store, so even your friends with tiny kitchens will enjoy this gift. You can disassemble and then wash this tool by hand, or place it on the top rack of the dishwasher for easy cleanup!
One of the best dishes I’ve seen with the spiralizer is sautéed veggie noodles topped with poached eggs. Does that not sound like an incredible breakfast?
Read Foodal’s Spiralizer Guide for more more information about these great products.
Cuisinart 20-Piece Deluxe Stainless Steel Grill Set
This stainless steel grill set makes an excellent gift, because this is another indulgence that people may not buy for themselves. This particular gift does require that your friend have a grill, unless you want to be the best Santa ever and throw that in, too.
With this set, you’ll get a chef’s spatula, grill tongs, silicone basting brush, four pairs of corn holders, five skewers, a cleaning brush with replacement brush head, and a digital temperature fork.
Cuisinart CGS-5020 20-Piece Deluxe Grill Set, available via Amazon
The aluminum storage case the set comes in is gorgeous. No need to wrap, just stick a bow on top!
Since this set comes from Cuisinart, you can be confident of its quality and durability. This is a great gift for the grill master to enjoy on game day.
Le Creuset Heritage Stoneware Oval Au Gratin Dish or Covered Casserole
I recommend this bakeware from Le Creuset as a gift because I received it from my oh-so-gracious future mother-in-law one year, and it is truly one of the best gifts I’ve received.
Le Creuset Heritage Stoneware 24-oz. Oval Au Gratin Dish, available via Amazon
There are few things better than bakeware that not only bakes well, but also looks pretty – especially when you’re serving guests!
These stoneware baking dishes come in a variety of colors to add a little flair to your dinner table. I have both in green, but certainly wouldn’t mind adding a few pieces in another color, or classic white.
Le Creuset Stoneware 4-Quart Covered Oval Casserole, available via Amazon
My favorite thing about this type of enamel-coated high-fired stoneware is its remarkable versatility. It can be used in the microwave, oven, broiler, fridge, and freezer. Since the glazed interior is nonporous, you can be sure that you won’t get any funny food reactions while baking.
This also means bakeware from Le Creuset is incredibly easy to clean up, whether you do it by hand or throw it in the dishwasher. I use mine to bake everything from casseroles to nachos to chicken breasts, or even an apple crisp for dessert!
Even More Ideas…
If you’re still on the hunt for some more fantastic gift ideas, check out a few of the other guides we’ve put together on Foodal.
Don’t miss our guide to the best holiday gifts for the food lover at any price point. And for the bookworm in your life, you’ll love our collection of favorite food reads and cookbooks.
If they love a good cocktail, maybe get them something for their home bar.Or, if the person you’re buying for has a KitchenAid or Bosch stand mixer, consider getting them an attachment.
We’ve reviewed several of the attachment options available for KitchenAid in this article,and Bosch’s offerings can be found here.
Another fun route would be to put together a gift basket full of smaller kitchen tools, like the ones outlined here. There are almost endless gift options available for the foodies in your life!
Product photos via Lodge, DeLonghi, Paderno, Cuisinart, and Le Creuset. Uncredited photos: Shutterstock. Originally published on December 11, 2014. Last updated: December 14, 2021 at 11:54 am. With additional writing and editing by Allison Sidhu.
About Chelsea Miller
Chelsea Miller, born and raised in Portland, Oregon, graduated from the University of Oregon where she discovered both her love of football and cooking great food. She's the founder of the food blog "A Duck's Oven" and began writing for Foodal in 2014.
Great list! I would love to receive any of those items as a gift. I think the Spiralizer, Deep fryer and cast iron dutch oven are absolute must haves.
The lodge dishware is definitely on my list this christmas. It’s so nice looking! And really a steal at that price. I’ve seen lots of good reviews. I am excited to have a new piece in my collection 🙂
I would absolutely love that dutch oven. I think it is beautiful and a must have in the kitchen since it is such a versatile piece. I just might get one as a little gift to myself. There is nothing better than brand new cookware 🙂
You have some great foodie gift items listed here. My favorite is the enameled cast iron Dutch oven. I am really hoping that Santa, or my husband, leaves one under my tree this year. We do a lot of cast iron cooking, but I feel like the enameled one might be a little bit easier to clean. 🙂
If only Santa would send me that DeLonghi Dual Zone 3-Pound-Capacity Deep Fryer, i’ d be grateful, happy, and awesomely content, i love my potatoes and i love deep frying them like almost every day :).
We used to have a deep fryer. I don’t know what has happened to it now. We also have our george Forman grill packed up some where. It does get a lot of fat from the hamburgers we cook. I just hate the part where I have to clean it because I find it an awkward shape to try and clean.
Kitchen gifts are always great when you don’t know what to get someone. I got the cast iron 5 quart pot last year in a beautiful light blue. At first I thought that I wouldn’t use it over but it turns out I use it all the time. It is such a great product for making soups or sauces. The color also brightens up my kitchen.
My one complaint is that it is so heavy, especially when it is filled with soup. It also can be a pain to clean in my small sink. Other then that you can’t go wrong with this!
This is great! All the recommendations are simply amazing! Out of all the goodies on the list, it was the deep fryer which really piqued my interest. It’s a great gift for someone who has a taste for fried foods. I was a bit surprised that a blender is not on the list, because personally, it’s great in preparation for summer. They’ll be able to appreciate it more, because they’ll have what they need for the next season.
I’d like to keep the spiral thingy for myself, thank you very much. That thing is great. So fun and interesting.
The grilling utensils are just beautiful. My husband would really love them. They look like they are great quality and so pretty too. Very nice.
Heck, I like everything on this list. Hopefully, somebody’s been naughty, so I can keep their gifts for myself. Ha ha.
I refuse to buy anything else from cuisinart, my cheap little cuisinart mixer broke after four uses, and never mixed right. other than that, this list is on point. I’ve always wanted a Dutch Oven, I just might add it to my wishlist and covertly send a link to a friend.
My boyfriend and I have been trying to get into cooking for at least a year now. It’s a healthier and cheaper than what we usually do (Chipotle. all the time). Problem is, we’re both lay-people in the cooking field so we get bored with the stuff we already know and grow discouraged. I’ve been looking for some versatile tools to use to get us started, and this post is perfect! I am going to get that dutch oven and grill set (we’ve got an awesome grill but a pretty lame grill set) for sure. Maybe I’ll even buy them as gifts =). Thanks for putting this up!
I got my mother a deep fryer a few years back, but she has been wanting some more cookware. And that enamel ironcast set looks like it could be just what she needs. I also want to get her something for baking – do you have any good recommendations for that? Anyway let me go hit up Amazon real quick.